RT team
IIT Madras, in partnership with IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and California-based Ziroh Labs, has launched the Centre of AI Research (CoAIR) to address compute accessibility challenges in India. This initiative, part of India’s ‘AI for All’ mission, focuses on optimizing AI models for CPUs and edge devices, eliminating reliance on expensive GPUs.
At the launch event, Ziroh Labs unveiled Kompact AI, an innovative platform enabling the development and deployment of foundational models on CPUs. Supporting 17 optimised models, including DeepSeek and Llama, Kompact AI has been benchmarked for performance and accuracy with IIT Madras. Its offline capabilities make it ideal for underserved and rural regions with limited internet access.
“Kompact AI bridges the AI divide by making advanced models accessible and affordable,” noted Madhusudhanan Baskaran of IITM Pravartak. The platform’s frugal approach supports smaller, domain-specific models that run efficiently on conventional devices, targeting sectors like agriculture, education, and rural healthcare.
Ziroh Labs co-founders Hrishikesh Dewan and Igneta DSouza emphasized accessibility, affordability, and adaptability as core principles. Kompact AI’s model library spans text, speech, vision, and multimodal models, while its runtime environment supports over 10 programming languages.
By avoiding accuracy trade-offs in CPU-optimized models, Kompact AI demonstrates India’s ability to lead in sustainable, frugal AI innovation. Industry leaders, including HCLTech, have expressed support for the initiative, further cementing its role in driving equitable AI adoption.
